The Nebraska football team had the fact that they have a tough schedule this season underlined once again.
The Nebraska football team is going to have a tough schedule. We’ve talked quite a bit about that over the offseason.
That was underlined yet again on Thursday morning when the official USA Today preseason Top 25 was released. This is the official poll of college football coaches.
The first thing to know is that no, the Cornhuskers are not ranked. That should come as a surprise to no one.
.@usatodaysports Preseason Coaches Poll:
— College Football HourGlass (@CFBHourGlass) August 2, 2018
1 Bama
2 Clemson
3 Ohio St
4 Georgia
5 Oklahoma
6 Wash
7 Wisconsin
8 Miami
9 Penn St
10 Auburn
11 Notre Dame
12 Mich St
13 Stanford
14 Michigan
15 USC
16 TCU
17 VaTech
18 Miss St
19 FSU
20 WVU
21 Texas
22 Boise St
23 UCF
24 LSU
25 OK State
It’s been a while since the Huskers were ranked in the Top 25 of any poll. On the flipside, there are several Husker opponents that are ranked and ranked quite high.
Nebraska Cornhuskers Football
In total, four opponents are going to start the year ranked in the Top 25. One school, which has found itself coming under fire this week, is the highest ranked among them.
Ohio State ranks the highest of any conference team, as they are third, right behind Alabama and Clemson. Wisconsin doesn’t come in too far behind, as they are ranked seventh.
Penn State is the third team ranked in the USA Today Top 25 as they are ninth. Luckily, the Huskers will not have to play them this season.
Michigan State, clocking in at 12th on the coaches’ poll is the next on the list. They are followed closely by Michigan.
That means in reality, the Huskers have four opponents on the 2018 schedule that are ranked in the Top 15 of the first coaches poll of the season. All the talk about how hard the schedule is going to be are real and true.
The poll doesn’t include teams like Purdue, Iowa, and Colorado, who could all post fairly good seasons if everything falls the right way. Iowa, in particular looks, to be a team that will join the Top 25 at some point in the season. As fall camp begins, we got one more reminder of just how challenging this Nebraska football season is going to be.